Even before the second Vande Bharat Express made its scheduled halt at Tirur, political maneuvering over the stop allocation had already commenced. The BJP district committee claimed credit for securing the stop, with district president Ravi Thelath stating, “I received a call from the Railway ministry on Thursday evening around 4.30 pm regarding the stoppage at Tirur for the inaugural run. At that time, they had no plan to allocate a stop in the schedule. But I told them about the importance of having a stoppage here; the population of the district and the number of passengers who depend on the station. One of the secretaries of the Railway minister told me that he would share this with the higher officials. Around 7 pm, he called again and told me that the Railway indeed has decided to allocate a stoppage at Tirur.”
Ravi Thelath went on to allege that local MP E T Mohammed Basheer was not sincere about developing the Tirur station and allocating stoppages for more trains, suggesting, “If the Railways sees huge demands at Tirur, they may even allot a stop for the first Vande Bharat Express.”
On the other hand, IUML was quick to claim influence in securing the stoppage. Malappuram MP E T Mohammed Basheer stated, “I have been constantly in touch with Railway Minister Aswini Vaishnav and Railway Board Chairman when they allotted a second Vande Bharat train to Kerala to ensure a stop for the train at Tirur. I have even reminded the minister recently to allocate a stop for both trains at Tirur. The minister has assured me that he would take an appropriate decision on the matter.”
However, the sudden announcement of the stoppage took many by surprise, including Opposition parties who had been planning to protest against the Railway’s previous neglect of Malappuram.
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